Ghosts
by Pointeofdance
Summary: It's Peter's first time to go back to the tower after The Decimation and it happens to be on a field trip with the Decathlon team. How will he handle the memories? MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS


AN:

Let me just start with MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS, if you didn't already catch that from the summary. If you're still here past the period at the end of this sentence, I'm going to assume that you've seen the movie.

Still here? Good. So this is a field trip fic, but with [MAJOR CHARACTER] dead, things are really different. I've always wanted to write one of these and when I do it's this pile of sadness. Sigh... I'm placing this after Far From Home and towards the start of the next school year. If you want my thoughts on some of the stuff that's happened since then, keep reading this note. If not, feel free to go onto the story. It's pretty easy to catch on.

Far From Home: Whatever happens in the movie, I'm expecting Peter and MJ to get together. I also really see her helping him get over Tony's death. She also totally knows that he's Spiderman so he can tell her everything.

The remaining Stark family (Happy, Pepper, Morgan): Since Far From Home, Happy and Aunt May have gotten closer so Happy is regularly over at Peter's place. Pepper has taken Peter into her family because she knows that's what Tony would have wanted. Besides, Peter is too precious and she falls in love with him anyway. Also, I love the idea of Morgan and Peter playing with each other as siblings because it's an adorable picture. Little side note, I tend to call Pepper "Mrs. Potts" through the story because that's a way easier mouthful than "Potts-Stark", although that is what she introduces herself as.

Anyway, that's my notes for the story. Enjoy!

* * *

Peter never had luck with field trips. First, he was bitten by a radioactive spider. While becoming Spiderman was a huge plus, it was still not a situation he'd like to go through again. There was the field trip to D.C., where he ended up having to save his whole decathlon team in the Washington monument. Admittedly, that one had sort of been his and Ned's fault, but it was another item on the list of reasons as to why Peter Parker should never be allowed on field trips. And let's not even mention the disaster that started as a field trip to MOMA and ended with him being dusted and losing five years of his life.

Most recently though, he was able to add another item on the list with his decathlon team's trip to Europe. Although, glancing over at MJ with a slight smile, not everything had turned out so horrible. Now though, it seemed like the world already wanted to move on to the next disaster as Mr. Harrington passed out permission slips for the next Decathlon field trip.

"Now I know that we just had our big field trip this past summer, but educational opportunities should never be passed up!" Mr. Harrington exclaimed. "I'm excited to announce that we will be going on a trip this Friday!"

Peter took one of the slips without really registering anything, too busy caught in his own head thinking about all of his previous experiences.

"You okay?" MJ asked quietly next to him, squeezing his hand. He nodded his head and squeezed her hand back. MJ had been an absolute blessing to him, helping him through the loss of his mentor and the horrific fights that he had been in. He, Ned, and MJ had all lost five years of their life and sometimes it hit all of them really hard when they didn't see some people who used to be in their grade but who had now moved on and graduated high school.

"Where are we going?" Flash called out. And then there were some people that Peter desperately wished had survived the initial encounter with Thanos so that they would no longer be in his class.

"I'm getting there," Mr. Harrington answered. He pulled out a second pile of papers. "Now, the first slip I gave you, your guardians have to sign for permission to give to the school. This second set of forms are needed because of security reasons at our location."

"But where is it?" Betty asked.

"It's going to be to, drumroll please!" Mr. Harrington looked very disappointed when there wasn't a drumroll, but continued on. "Stark Tower!"

Peter sat there frozen in shock as his teammates began to cheer. Two seconds later, he bolted from the room. Ned and MJ exchanged worried glances before standing up to go after their friend.

"What's the matter with Parker?" Flash sneered. "Does he think we'll find out that the internship he claimed to have a year ago was fake the whole time?"

"Grow up, Flash," MJ snarled before stalking out of the room with Ned following her. They found Peter curled up on the ceiling of the shop classroom. He didn't move at all when they opened the door.

Exchanging another worried glance, they both quickly clambered up on the table that was directly under Peter. He still had his face buried in his knees and he was shaking badly.

"Peter?" MJ asked quietly, her hands tentatively reaching for his. She wouldn't have dared to touch him if she didn't know him as well as she did. Peter craved physical contact, especially after Mr. Stark died. It didn't matter if it was just holding hands or touching shoulders, but he seemed to always need the reassurance that the person next to him wasn't going to be gone. She knew that it was a common theme for many of the people who had survived the initial dusting, but for Peter it was from not being near enough to save those he loved. Ned, having the same idea, began to gently rub circles on Peter's back. After some time, the trembling slowed and MJ could feel Peter's hands clench and unclench hers.

"I haven't been back," he eventually said, voice barely more than a whisper.

"Didn't you go visit Mrs. Potts last week?" Ned questioned.

"Yeah, but that was to their home upstate," Peter answered. "I haven't been to the tower since _him_."

"He's a ghost in your mind, isn't he?" MJ asked quietly. She reach for his cheeks and slowly tilted his head up, or down, depending on your point of view as Peter was still on the ceiling. He finally made eye contact with her and nodded.

"I am always reminded of him. When Happy comes over to see Aunt May. When I go visit Mrs. Potts and Morgan. Especially with Morgan. And when Mrs. Potts looks so proud to see me and her daughter together, I know that she especially encourages it because it's what _he_ wanted. And I'm grateful to them, I really am. But I was never at their house when he was. And Happy comes over to our place. I have never been back to the tower since he was still alive."

"You don't need to go," Ned ventured cautiously.

Peter shook his head. "I feel like I have to. It's the one bit of closure that I don't have."

MJ looked at him proudly and Peter's heart warmed. He had shared just about everything with her since this summer. Now, both she and Ned knew that Peter had gone to the tower for some actual internship work instead of it just being a cover for Spiderman's activities. He had confessed one night after a very long talk that one of the things he missed most deeply was being able to show up at the tower and work with Mr. Stark for long hours into the night. Neither needing to say much. He also spoke of some of the other friends he had made when he left the private labs of the upper floors to wander lower. He hadn't been back and wondered if anybody even remembered him now.

"Well, you're not conquering any demons from this ceiling," MJ smirked, sounding more like her usual self. Her gentler, quiet side was for only Peter, and occasionally Ned, to see.

"I suppose not," Peter said with a quiet chuckle and easily flipped himself down so that he was standing on the table with Ned and MJ. "I didn't pick up the permission slips. Do you suppose that Mr. Harrington is still here?"

"Even if he's not, I have a team captain meeting with him tomorrow morning anyway. I'll pick them up for you," MJ volunteered.

"Thanks, MJ," Peter said, relieved. As a group, they decided to just go home for the day instead of seeing if the meeting was still going on. Ned waved goodbye to go to where his mom was waiting in a car while Peter and MJ walked toward the subway, hands intertwined.

"You're going to be okay, Peter. You're strong enough to do this," MJ said quietly as they boarded. "Ned and I will be there the whole time. If anything gets to be too much, we'll leave and wait with the bus."

Peter didn't say anything, but squeezed her hand. Friday was going to be a rough day.

* * *

Peter had met his doom, both literally and figuratively, way too many times after getting on the big yellow school bus. As he glanced up at the outside of the next bus to hell, he felt apprehension in his stomach. He had gotten the forms from MJ the following morning and gotten Aunt May to sign them. She didn't say anything about the location, only giving him a long, measured look before signing her name neatly. The following night, Happy was at their apartment to have dinner. He didn't explicitly mention the field trip, even though Peter knew that Aunt May must have told him. His only indication of his knowledge was briefly saying "You still got your badge, kid?" Peter had nodded and that was that.

"Come on, Peter!" Ned said enthusiastically, pulling him on the bus and towards the back where MJ was already waiting with her nose in a book. Despite being worried for his friend, Ned was also really excited about the prospect of seeing the inside of Stark Tower for himself, not just through Peter's recollections.

"You are too enthusiastic for this time of morning," MJ commented dryly, barely glancing up. "It's mainly going to be a bunch of science labs anyway."

"Just cause you're more interested in activism doesn't mean science isn't cool," Ned pouted.

"Nerd," MJ retorted, but Ned and Peter could hear the fondness in the word.

Peter smiled at his friends antics. He was glad that they were behaving as normally as possible, given the circumstances. He felt something hit him on the back of the head. A pencil eraser

"Yo, Parker, I'm glad that you've given up on your internship lie or today would've been really embarrassing for you," Flash called, but not loudly enough for Mr. Harrington to hear outside the bus where he was still checking students' names off.

"Wasn't a lie," Peter muttered, his good mood gone.

"Sorry, I don't think I quite heard that," Flash laughed.

"Maybe you should get your ears checked then," MJ shot back before turning her back. Flash made a face, but left it alone. Despite still acting like a jerk the majority of the time, he had grown up a bit.

"What are you most excited about seeing?" Peter asked Ned in an attempt to change the subject. His best friend's eyes lit up as he started talking about the different robotics that he hoped to see. MJ gave a small smile before returning to her book.

By the time the bus pulled up outside of Stark Tower, Peter gazed up at the spire of steel and glass. Ms. Potts had decided after everything that she wanted the tower back because it was something that she and Mr. Stark had done together. Peter had only asked about it once and Ms. Potts had given a half choked laugh and said that if it was only 12 percent hers, than it was 88 percent Tony's. Peter hadn't asked what that meant, but at that moment Morgan had tugged on his hand demanding that he play with her so he let the conversation be. He never brought it up again.

As they filed off the bus, he felt MJ's hand slide into his again. He didn't acknowledge it because he knew that wasn't how MJ was. They walked into the tower together behind Mr. Harrington, Ned at their side. He only had to avoid one tripping attempt by Flash on the way.

Mr Harrington walked up to the front desk. "Hello. We're the Midtown High School decathlon team here for a tour."

The receptionist smiled at the group. It was somebody that Peter didn't recognize. That wasn't a surprise. He didn't know most people at the tower, even when he was here more regularly.

"Of course!" She exclaimed. "My name is Lisa. I'll get your badges sorted out while we wait for your tour guide to get here."

She came around the desk with a box full of badges on lanyards. "Now, your school sent over your security paperwork yesterday, so each of these badges is made individually for you. All badges in this tower are made for one person and one person only. Security is a large concern here, between the technology developed and the presence of some very important people. These ones have your names on them and will deactivate the moment you leave the building. If you were to ever come back, you would need to contact the tower security so they can reactivate your badge instead of printing a new one."

Lisa began to call out names and one by one the students went up to get them. When Ned received his, he began to fawn over having his name printed on something that also said Stark Industries. MJ just gave a smirk and slipped hers over her head. She gave a more heartfelt smile when Peter slipped his out of his pocket and over his head.

When Lisa got to the bottom of the list, Mr. Harrington stopped her. "Excuse me, but I believe that there's been a mistake. One of the students didn't receive a badge."

"Who?" Lisa frowned, looking down at her list and then at the empty box of badges in her hand. "That was everybody on my list."

"Peter Parker!" Flash shouted joyfully, turning his smirk at the boy in question.

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson," Mr. Harrington sighed, used to the boy's antics but not willing to go as far as to stop them. "Yes, Peter Parker hasn't received a badge."

"Um, it's alright, ma'am," Peter stuttered. He lifted his badge from its place around his neck. "I used to work here so I needed to get my old badge reactivated." In truth, he didn't believe that his badge had ever gotten deactivated, but he didn't want to say why he had an active badge if he didn't work at the tower anymore.

"Oh, good," Lisa said with a sigh of relief.

"Wait, you can't believe that's real!" Flash demanded. " There's no way a high schooler ever worked here."

Lisa gave Flash a long look. "I would think carefully before using that sort of tone here. Ms. Potts is very concerned about our work environment here. Using that sort of tone with your coworkers is grounds for being fired. Now, regardless if Mr. Parker used to work here or not, he does have a badge and went through the protocols for having access reinstated. If not, FRIDAY, the building's AI, would have alerted security as to a possible breach."

Flash looked thoroughly subdued and kept his head down, shuffling towards the back of the group. Lisa looked very smug, but her eyes lit up as she spotted somebody hurrying towards them. "Ah, here's your tour guide."

"Hello!" The young man exclaimed. "My name is Cole and I'll be taking you guys through Stark Tower today."

As he began leading them towards security, Lisa waved goodbye and went back behind the desk.

"Alright then!" Cole began. "Welcome to Stark Tower. As I said, my name is Cole. I have been a tour guide here for three years now, although two and a half of those were from before The Decimation. Either way, I'm back here doing what I love, so let's get started!"

Peter envied the way the man was able to so casually talk about losing five years of his life. He shuffled along with the rest of his class towards security, clutching to MJ's hand like a lifeline.

"As you walk up to security, scan your badge and FRIDAY will announce your name," Cole instructed before demonstrating.

"Cole Silvan. Level 3," FRIDAY intoned.

Some of the class jumped at the voice out of nowhere and Cole explained. "That would be FRIDAY, the building AI. She has eyes and ears on everything in this building."

"Eugene Thompson. Guest," FRIDAY said as Flash walked through the scanner. He flushed in fury and walked quickly to join Cole.

One by one, the rest of the class went through. Ned looked thrilled to have his name called out. MJ squeezed his hand before letting go to go through herself. She didn't react at all to her name being called. Clutching his badge tightly, Peter walked up to security and scanned his badge.

"Peter Parker. Level 9." FRIDAY's voice got softer. "Welcome back Peter. It has been a while."

"Thanks, FRIDAY," Peter said around the lump in his throat. He wouldn't cry here, not in front of his classmates. Who knew that hearing the voice of _his_ AI would choke him up so badly. "It's nice to be back."

"How on Earth did you get the voice to say that?" Flash demanded.

"Back off, Flash," MJ warned, seeing the hurt Peter was trying to hide.

"He already told you anyway," Ned continued. "He had an internship here."

Flash turned to Cole. "What do the levels mean?"

Cole was looking at Peter in shock, but still turned to answer Flash's question. "Well, the security levels are roughly equal to how much access you have to the tower. I say roughly as, for example, a higher up in the business side of things doesn't need to go to the labs. The levels go from 1-10. You all have level one access, but a different access from, say, a level one press member. You're on a tour so need access to more of the tower where as press only need access to one room. You need somebody like me, a level three, to access the floors though."

"And Parker with the level nine?" Flash asked.

Cole gave Peter a long look. "That would mean access to most of the building. Very few people have level nine and ten access. However, I don't think I'm qualified to even ask how Mr. Parker got that level."

"That would be correct," a voice said from behind them. The group as one turned to look at the man who walked up to them.

"I'm Happy Hogan, the head of security for the tower," Happy introduced himself. "FRIDAY alerted me to the situation here. Mr. Parker worked on very confidential things during his time as an intern here. During your paperwork, you signed NDAs saying that you would not discuss the technology that you see here today. Similarly, Mr. Parker is not allowed to discuss his projects. Any questions?"

Happy glared over the crowd of high schoolers. Nobody dared to speak back. Cole cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Mr. Hogan, for clearing up the confusion," he said. "Is there anything else you would like to say before we get started on the tour?"

Happy waved them off, but not before making eye contact with Peter and giving a subtle nod. Cole lead them over to an elevator and swiped his card. "Floor 23, please FRIDAY."

As the elevator began moving, Cole began to speak with them. "We're going to be going to some of the labs first. Then we'll have a quick lunch. At the end we'll go to everybody's favorite part: the Avenger's memoriam."

Excited whispering broke out at the last part.

Peter supposed that it was a very good tour of the labs. He didn't really recognize anyone or anything from the labs, but he didn't expect to. He was interested in hearing about the new technology that Stark Industries was working on. During the whole time, Flash kept making subtle verbal jabs at him, but he ignored the bully. It wasn't until they were nearing the end of the tour that something interesting happened.

"Peter, is that you?" A voice called.

The class turned around to see a young man walking briskly towards then.

"Harley!" Peter exclaimed joyfully, walking up to the man. "It's good to see you."

"You, too," Harley replied with a crooked grin. His face fell. "Haven't seen you around much, since, well…"

"Yeah," Peter shrugged awkwardly. He looked around and noticed his class staring at them. Cole cleared his throat.

"Students, this is Harley Keener, one of the top robotics scientists here," Cole explained. "He started as an intern here in high school and then was taken on full time a year ago."

"Wait, so some high schoolers actually can become interns?" Flash asked.

"Of course," Harley said, putting his arm around Peter's shoulders. "You've got one right here. And one of the best at that."

Peter's face heated up as the rest of his class looked at him in shock. "Harley…"

Harley turned him to face him and spoke quietly. "Peter, we don't blame you for what you're going through. But know that if you ever want to return, there's always a bench open for you."

Peter nodded silently as Harley turned back to the class again. "It was nice meeting you all, Peter's team."

With a wave, he turned and entered one of the labs.

"Who's ready for lunch?" Cole asked, trying to break the team out of their shock.

They all headed for the elevators again and Cole asked for Friday to bring them to floor 10. When they got there, each person was given a meal voucher and told to get what they wanted. The group quickly dispersed to look at their options. Peter, Ned, and MJ found a table in a corner to sit at together.

"How're you doing?" Ned asked immediately.

"I'm doing okay, actually," Peter answered. "Nothing too bad so far."

"Do you think you'll ever come back here like that Harley guy was saying?" Ned questioned.

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Peter admitted. "I'd kind of like to just focus on school for now."

Ned nodded his agreement and went back to his lunch. The three spent the lunch quietly, only chatting briefly about some of the stuff they've seen. Before long, it was time for the tour to resume. Cole came to collect them and led them to the elevator once more.

The elevator began moving and then let them out on the correct floor. Cole ushered them all out and began speaking. "Stark Industries was founded by Howard Stark in 1940. The senior Stark was heavily involved in World War II, particularly the Captain America project. After the war, Stark continued making weapons in the decades that followed as the top manufacturer in the country. After his death in 1991, Obadiah Stane took over the position of CEO until the young Tony Stark was 21. In 2009, after being kidnapped by the terrorist organization, The Ten Rings, Mr. Stark decided to change the direction of the company. He had some of the biggest strides in the green energy field with his arc reactor technology. Technology that, in fact, powers this whole building."

As he was talking, Cole lead them slowly down a hallway filled with pictures and other memorabilia of Stark Industries history, giving them some time to look. As they reached a large set of double doors, Cole stopped the tour.

"Behind these doors is what we used to call the Avenger's museum. Before The Decimation, it held artifacts from all of the Avengers and told of their exploits. However, since The Decimation, it has been turned into a memorial of sorts. While it does still hold all of the same artifacts, a greater emphasis has been placed on the great battle that took place and each Avenger's part in it, including the losses. Here, you will find shrines for Vision, Natasha Romanov and Tony Stark. We ask that you keep your voices down in respect to the fallen and what all of these heroes struggled to do for us."

With that, he opened the doors. After that speech, the team walked solemnly through before spreading out.

"Come on," Ned said quietly and led Peter and MJ in a random direction. They ended up in front of the Wakandan section. Peter looked up at the display with King T'Challa prominently at the front. However, on either sides were displays and panels for Princess Shuri, Okoye, M'Baku, and the Wakandan nation as a whole.

"You guys would love her," Peter said quietly while pointing at Shuri. "She's so cool. I swear she has the internet memorized."

"You got to meet Princess Shuri?" Ned whispered excitedly. "Did you fight alongside her?"

"Yeah, but I didn't really know it at the time. I had kind of just come back from space through a magical portal and had a huge army in front of me. I didn't meet her until afterwards. Until, well, until the funeral."

Ned was quiet after that as they went to the next exhibit, this time for the sorcerers. They went this way around for a while, with Peter interjecting small tidbits from when he had met the heroes. There was even a display for him, recounting his exploits around New York and then the battle on Titan. Peter was very touched. They finally made their way to the back where the memorials to the fallen were. They began at Natasha Romanov's. Peter had never met her, but he had seen how devastated the whole team was to her loss. This was followed by Vision's. Peter had met him a couple times around the tower, but was never close with the android. He did, however, still feel for his loss. Finally, they reached the largest display in the whole exhibit.

As Peter looked up at the picture of Mr. Stark's face, he felt his knees slowly collapsing. MJ and Ned slowly helped him down to the ground. He felt tears come up in his eyes. He hadn't cried the day of the funeral because he had felt too numb. The tears had come often since. He had been right there when it happened, and he hadn't been close enough to help. No, he had been on the other side of the field and had to be rescued (by a bunch of badass females. MJ would kill him if he didn't mention that part). And when it was all over, he didn't feel like he mattered anymore as Ms. Potts, Col. Rhodes, Happy, and Morgan should be at the forefront. Later, however, Ms. Potts pulled him and Aunt May aside and asked them over for dinner. Then it didn't stop, with him going over to visit frequently. He and Morgan got along so well. But nothing ever seemed to change the hole all of them felt in their lives.

"This is pathetic, Parker. Sitting there, mourning like you knew him," a voice sneered behind him.

"Flash, that is too far," MJ snapped. "You should be grateful as well. You wouldn't even be here if not for him."

"I am grateful, but I'm not going to be crying like he was my best friend. Parker never knew him and it's _disrespectful_ to pretend he did."

"Ned, stop," Peter said quietly as he got to his feet, a hand on the fist that Ned was making. "It's not worth it."

He turned and began walking away, only stopping when Flash called after him. "You are nothing, Parker! You never were. You aren't important. Not to the world, and especially not to _him_."

His knees gave out. He fell to the ground as his breath came out in heavy heaves. The world was spinning around him and he could barely feel Ned's hands on his shoulders or hear the dressing down that MJ was giving Flash. One thing, though, cut through the rest.

"What. Have. You. _Done_."

Peter was still trembling but glanced up to see a furious Pepper Potts-Stark glaring at Flash, anger tangible in the air around her. She kneeled down and placed a gentle hand on Peter's cheek, checking to see if he was alright.

"Happy," she called. The man who was standing right beside her came forward and knelt as well. "Bring Peter and his friends up to the penthouse. Take care of them."

Happy nodded and gently helped Peter stand up. With MJ and Ned helping, they left the museum. Pepper turned to Flash, eyes burning. "Come here."

Flash, confused but worried, followed Pepper back to near the front doors where Cole was waiting. He looked surprised to see her.

"Call everybody back," Pepper bit out. Cole nodded quickly and ran further into the room to gather the students. Everybody came back with expressions of confusion, expressions which did not clear when they saw Pepper Potts-Stark looking furious with a scared Flash next to her. When everybody was together, she began to speak.

"Let me make something very clear to you all. The entire universe suffered a tragedy not long ago. People where lost and people came back. However, not one of us got through that time period unchanged. What I am about to tell you does not leave this room. I am only saying anything for the sake of a very special boy, who I care about very much." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Peter Parker and my husband had a very special relationship. Peter was not merely a worker for Tony, he was practically his son. When Peter was one of the ones lost in The Decimation, Tony was devastated. It was the hope of bringing Peter back that drove Tony to figuring out the solution to bringing everybody back. Peter and Tony did see each other one last time before Tony had to make his sacrifice. I have seen recordings of their reunion, and I don't know if I have ever seen my husband so relieved."

She paused and took another deep breath. She had everybody's eyes glued to her, taking in every word. "Tony's death was hard on all of us, but Peter took it especially hard. It has been a long road to recovery for us all, and nobody's really there yet. We all do our best to get by, but I never, _ever_ want to hear about somebody purposefully goading somebody about this tragedy ever again. This is not something that we make jokes about. We support and we grieve. No matter what we were like before, I hope that we came out of this as better people." She stopped to glare at Flash who was looking down at his shoes then at Mr. Harrington who was looking at her with wide eyes. "Clean up your bullying problem. We do not taunt, we do not beliger others' grief. Do not let me hear of anything like this happening again or I will bring down the full might of Stark Industries on you school. Now, get out of my tower."

* * *

Peter curled up on the couch with MJ next to him and Ned sitting close by. Happy brought over a tray of hot chocolate and silently passed them out to everybody. They waited in silence until they heard the elevator open and Pepper walked out in a fury. Her eyes softened when she spotted Peter on the couch and hurried over.

"What happened to Flash?" was the first thing Peter asked.

Pepper sighed and shook her head at the ridiculous name. "He and the rest of the team have left. I will be having words with the principle though. That teacher didn't even put up any protest about leaving without you three, which I know is against some school rule."

She turned to Peter's friends and held out a hand. "Hi, I don't believe we've met, even though Peter talks so much about you two that I feel like I know you already. I'm Pepper Potts-Stark."

"Ned Leeds," Ned introduced shyly.

"Michelle Jones, but most call me MJ," MJ said boldly. "I really admire you and what you've gone through to ensure more female representation in both the business and superhero worlds."

"Why thank you, MJ," Pepper said with a smile. She liked Peter's girlfriend quite a lot. "I'm sure that you will continue that trend."

She turned back to Peter. "How are you holding up? FRIDAY told me that you were at the exhibit and I decided to go down there so you could have somebody else there when I heard that boy speaking to you that way. Why didn't you say anything?"

"It was never that bad," Peter muttered. "It's normally just about being nerdy, or a loser, or whatever other stupid things high schoolers say. It's never bothered me before. He's never taken things this far."

"Regardless of the severity, you still should have said something," Pepper chided gently. "I certainly gave the class a talking to. I hope you don't mind, but I did confirm for them that you and Tony were close. Nothing past that though, only so that they'd understand. I tried to keep it to being respectful of what others have gone through, though."

"No, that's okay," Peter sighed. "I knew today was going to be tough. I didn't think I was going to end up with a panic attack though."

"Nobody blames you, Peter," MJ said softly. "This is Flash's fault, not yours."

"Tony loved you like a son, Peter," Pepper continued. "Don't ever doubt that. I have never told you this, but everything that happened is because of you. When the Avenger's were in ruins, they came to our house with a crazy plan that involved time travel. Tony sent them away because he didn't want to mess up the life he had with me and Morgan. I didn't try to convince him otherwise, but he missed you. When he finally broke down and figured it out, he confessed that it was because he has been looking at a picture of you. You motivated him to solve everything. Half the world wouldn't be alive right now if not for you. I dearly wish it could be Tony here being the one to tell you all of this, but he's not. He would be proud, though, of giving his life to make sure that we all could live. You included, Peter."

"Why is it so hard though?" Peter asked, choking slightly.

"Because we loved him," Happy said plainly, as if there was no other answer. "Peter, we may look put together, but we are all holding on by threads. We're strengthened by those around us. Look at who you have, Peter. You have me, and Pepper, and Morgan. You have your Aunt. You have Ned. You have MJ. We stick together, and we'll make it through. You're not alone. You're never alone."

Each person there slowly enveloped Peter in a hug. It started with MJ, as she was cuddled into his side anyway. Ned joined next, draping his arms over the both of them. Pepper sat down next to them and joined. Happy even stood over the back of the couch and rested his hands on their shoulders. Peter sank into their embrace. He was loved. He would pull through.

* * *

How'd you guys like it? I hope it wasn't too depressing for everybody. I hope that the Iron Man and Spiderman universes continue to be intermingled. Let me know your thoughts on this story, Endgame, and predictions for Far From Home by leaving a review!

Till the next time,

Pointeofdance


End file.
